This new par-3 course is not what it looks like it is endless fun

Fake grass plays a real and growing role in golf.

Once largely reserved for short-game setups in the back garden, it has spread its reach to all kinds of public locations. The most prominent of those projects is Sofi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., The interior of TGL. But the synthetic trend has taken (artificial) root at lower playgrounds from coast to coast.

The latter? Shortland Golf Club in Portland, Ore.

Shortland is the brainchild of Mike Fritz, an old wave and former shoe developer for Nike Golf who saw a void in his hometown market. In the east of Portland there was a sweet par-3 course in the suburbs in the suburbs, giving quick and easy access to the game.

“But there was such a thing on the west side of the city,” says Fritz.

What to do was another matter. Country for a new course was scarce and expensive.

“I thought the only way to do it was to find something that closes or was ready to be sold,” he says.

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Fritz discovered exactly that in the old footprint of Sandelie Golf Course, a modest 18-hole layout, 30 minutes from the center, which had gone on the belly at the end of 2022. The country had since been lowered and stood on the blocks. Fritz acquired a 31 -hectare quadrant and placed a plan.

On a plot of that size there was no room for a full course, and Fritz did not want one. He knew enough to know that building and serving such a place was similar to opening a restaurant: sounds nice until you actually do it. Even if you came through design and construction, maintenance and labor were for long -term obligations that can drain your bank account and drive you crazy.

Fritz had been there and played many courses. Under his memorable rounds, there was a player-friendly par-3 course in Skamania Lodge, just across the border of Oregon in Washington, with artificial greens and T-pieces. Another was a loop on the bad small nine, a poorly fascinating par-3 layout at Scottsdale National Golf Club in Arizona.

What about something of a hybrid of the two? A short course that combined the subtleties and strategy of fine design with the benefits of synthetic turf.

For help, Fritz turned to Jackson Kahn Design, the architecture agency behind the bad nine nine, including widespread projects. It happened in such a way that one of the main employees of Jackson Kahn, Connor Dougherty, was located in Portland. With his colleagues at Jackson Kahn, Dougherty had experience with short-game setups in the back garden, and although this was his first stab on public access with synthetic turf, he had a good idea of ​​what he wanted to make.

“The goal was to put a lot of character and movement in the greens and make them interesting to hit,” he says. “We wanted a few that would make creativity possible and be a playable experience for everyone.”

It helped that fake grass was not long, the inferior turf of generations passed. Just like golf equipment, jumps and boundaries in the modern era was advanced, so that it now played fairly loyalty, bouncing, rolling and reception of shots in a way that is close to that of real grass.

It was up to Dougherty to do the rest.

The design that he was conceived is a 19-hole par-3 layout that runs, clovery, around a square package, with a clubhouse and food cart in the center that the routing hits three times. Holes vary from 59 to 104 meters, with generous greens that vary in their shape and contours, which set a grab bag of requirements. The 19th hole is overlooked by a clubhouse veranda that is appropriate as the “Heckler’s Deck”, which is not as intimidating as it sounds. After all, most golfers know better than a beginner, and most experienced players can handle benign ridges. If not, they would have switched to another game.

All T-pieces, bunkers and placing surfaces in shortland showcase synthetic peat of celebrity greens (the “sand” is not sand but 2-inch grass, painted white). That means there is no need for raking, watering, mowing or fixing. However, the putting surfaces still ask for care; They are rolled up and sanded to keep them smooth and country club. Transition areas are equipped with natural grass, smothered to the height of a friendly pitch and putt. Miss the green and there is a chance to recover.

Shortland has been busy since the opening of the beginning of August and last week it added a draw: a 19-hole put and chipping race called the nest that can be played with a flat stick or a wedge. Take your choice. The grass is fake, but the experience is real.

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